The issue of ending violence against women
and girls is a complicated one.
The end of gender-based violence requires many solutions, yet women and girls themselves are almost always ignored when considering what actions can be taken. The purpose of the movie BEAUTY BITES BEAST is to include the woman or girl herself in being part of the solution to ending violence WHILE it’s happening. We have been systematically excluded from public conversations and BEAUTY BITES BEAST is determined to be at the “solve violence against women and girls” discussion table!
Kelly Oxford’s 2016 #notokay Twitter campaign yielded 9.7 million tweets with people sharing about their first sexual assault, often as young girls. In the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal of 2017, the #metoo campaign has already reached 85 countries and almost 2 million tweets in its first month! These campaigns show that sexual assault is a worldwide epidemic … and it’s also sadly only the tip of the iceberg because many women (and some men) experience more than one assault in their lifetime.
In the wake of this worldwide phenomenon, the natural question is “now what?” Our film provides a unique perspective: showing how women can take back their lives by stopping an assault BEFORE it happens. It also asks the question “why is this idea so controversial to so many people?” The answers in the film are revelatory about our attitudes about women and what is “proper” for females.
The World Health Organization
conservatively estimates that 1 in 3
women worldwide have experienced
gender-based violence in their lifetimes.
People in the development world know
that is a VERY low estimate.
A 2014 White House Task Force
determined that 1 in 5 college women
are sexually assaulted and everyone
knows that’s a low number because of under-reporting by assault survivors.
what they’re saying
Female elephants, lions… all are just as fierce in self-defense as males. Only our species is taught to be ‘feminine’ and defenseless. BEAUTY BITES BEAST shows how women around the world are taking back our strengths and lives.
– Gloria Steinem
what they’re saying
I thought self-defense was victim blaming. I also believed that self-defense was violent, for tomboys, not what a nice girl should ever do. I had it so wrong! What BEAUTY BITES BEAST showed me, in a truly transformative way, was that self-defense is about my right and capacity to set and protect my own boundaries. You will laugh, you may tear up, but you will definitely walk away enlightened.
– Petra Hand, Global Issues Consultant
what they’re saying
I cannot put into words how emotional and moving BEAUTY BITES BEAST was for me, but I can say that I cried at least three times. To finally get that my life IS valuable, worth fighting for, and that it IS okay to set boundaries for myself makes me feel like I’m not alone. BEAUTY BITES BEAST really validated this for me in a powerful way, and it should be seen by women and men of all ages.
– Shanda Poitra
what they’re saying
At various times in my life I have been sexually attacked, date raped, stalked, sexually abused by medical professionals, physically abused by a partner, and sexually harassed in the workplace countless times. I have lived my life believing that all these were part and parcel of being female… until I saw BEAUTY BITES BEAST! My eyes are now open.
– Shari D., Toronto
what they’re saying
Watching BEAUTY BITES BEAST forced me to look at the things I hadn't done in my life because of fear. That fear is gone now, I’m once again out in the world, and I am forever grateful to this film for what it sparked and awakened in me. I feel free, I’m lighter and filled with unexplainable joy: from the bottom of my heart, thank you.
– Audience Member
what they’re saying
BEAUTY BITES BEAST is extremely persuasive. It collects all conceivable objections and reluctance to self-defense training for women and dispatches them one by one with wit and solid info.
– John Stoltenberg, Gender Justice advocate and author
